Picture hanger with transparent flaps



Sept. 4, 1962 J. M. MARGULIS 3,052,436

PICTURE HANGER WITH TRANSPARENT FLAPS Filed July 21, 1960 FIG.6

INVENTOR. JOSEPH M. MARGULIS CLUM Mm ATT QNEY United States Patent 3,052,436 PICTURE HANGER WITH TRANSPARENT FLAPS Joseph M. Margulis, Jiffy Enterprises, Inc., 150 N. 13th St, Philadelphia, Pa. Filed July 21, 1960, Ser. No. 44,384 4 Claims. c1. z4s 2s) This invention relates in general to a wall hanger, and more specifically to a nail-less hanger for pictures and the like capable of being secured to the surface of a wall without marring said surface or penetrating it.

In order to hang objects such as pictures, ceramics, maps, etc. usually a solid type of fastener such as a nail or Wire hook is employed to secure the object on a wall. The use of such nails or wire hooks were substantially obviated by the nail-less hanger for pictures set forth in my prior Patents 2,647,711 and 2,809,(l0l. The nail-less hangers in said patents have the advantage of being capable of quick application to any surface wherever needed and leave no tell-tale cracks, breaks or marks upon the wall.

The present invention is an improvement over the nailless hangers in said patents. The nail-less hangers in said patents have eminently achieved their purpose and have been commercially successful. The present invention improves the nail-less hangers in said patents by providing flaps of transparent synthetic resin having a pressure sensitive adhesive on the rear surfaces thereof. The provision of transparent flaps on the nail-less hanger enables the color of the walls to the transmitted through the flaps, therefore the flaps are less noticeable. The provision of a pressure sensitive adhesive on the rear surface of the flaps enables the nail-less hanger of the present invention to be reusable and also enables the flaps to be applied to a wall or the like more readily.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a nail-less hanger supporting device having transparent flaps.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a nail-less hanger supporting device having transparent flaps and a pressure sensitive adhesive on the rear surface of said flaps.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a nail-less wall hanger supporting device capable of being reused.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a nail-less wall hanger supporting device which is simple and easy to manufacture at a sufficiently low cost so that it will be readily acceptable to the buying public.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a wall hanger supporting device which is capable of being readily applied to any surface and removed therefrom without injuring said surface.

Other objects will appear hereinafter.

For the purpose of illustrating the invention there is shown in the drawings forms which are presently preferred; it being understood, however, that this invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of the hanger support of the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a rear elevational view of the hanger support of the present invention.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 in FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view taken along the lines 5-5 in FIGURE 4.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of the embodiment shown in FIGURE 4 positioned on a supporting surface or wall.

Referring to the drawing in detail, wherein like numerals indicate elements, there is shown in FIGURE 1 a ice nail-less wall hanger supporting device designated generally as 10.

The supporting device 10 comprises a strip 12 of a trans parent synthetic material, such as mylar, vinyl plastic, cellophane, etc. The strip 12 is provided on its rear surface with a layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 14. The strip 12 is folded under or overlapped upon itself along a transverse fold line 16 disposed intermediate its ends to form a front flap 18 and a rear flap 20. The front flap 18 and the rear flap 26 extend upwardly and outwardly from a seam 22 formed by the application of pressure to the pressure sensitive adhesive 14 on the juxtaposed surfaces of the strip 12.

The provision of the seam 22 results in a hem in the strip 12 having hem elements 24 and 26 extending from the seam 22 to the fold line 16. A support bar 28, preferably made from a metal such as steel, is secured or positioned within the hem with its bottom edge juxtaposed to the fold line 15. The support bar 28 may be held or secured within the hem by the seam 22 and the pressure sensitive adhesive 14 on the hem elements 2 and 26.

A hook 30, which may be made of metal or the like, is pivotally secured upon the support bar 28 by a tubular flange 32 which extends through a hole in the support bar. The hem elements 24 and 26 are each provided with a hole in alignment with the hole in the support bar 28. One end of the flange 32 is integral with the shank portion 34 on the hook 30 and the other end 36 on the flange 32 is flared outwardly and swaged so that the support bar 28, the hem element 24 and the hem element 26 are disposed between the shank portion 34 and the swaged end 36. In order that the end 36 on the flange 32 may be swaged so as to maintain the hanger support device 10 in assembled relationship, the tubular flange 32 is provided with a relatively thin cross-section as compared with the shank portion 34. The outer diameter of the tubular flange 32 is smaller than the diameter of the holes in the hem elements 24 and 26 and the support bar 28, and the swaged portion 36 does not engage the hem element 26 so tightly so as to prevent pivotation of the hook 30 relative to the support 'bar 28.

The front flap 18 and the rear flap 20 are preferably provided with a sheet of calendered paper 38 and 39, respectively, in abutting contact with the pressure sensitive adhesive 14. The sheets of calendered paper 38 and 39 are readily removable when it is desired to affix the flaps l8 and 20 to a supporting wall or the like.

FIGURES 46 disclose an alternative embodiment of the hanger support device of the present invention and is designated generally as lit). The elements of the supporting device 19 which are identical with the corresponding elements in the support device 10 are shown with primed numerals and need not be discussed in detail. The support bar 46 has the same configuration as the support bar 28, however the support bar 40 is preferably made from a plastic material.

A sheet of calendered paper 38 is applied to the pressure sensitive adhesive surface 14 on the flap 18. The sheet of calendered paper 38' has a length and width corresponding with the length and width of the flap 18'. As shown more clearly in FIGURE 5, the flap 20 may have the phantom position illustrated wherein it is in abutting contact with a surface of the paper 28'. The last-mentioned surface is opposite from the surface in abutting contact with the adhesive 14 on the flap 18'.

The shank portion 34 is provided with a hole 42. The hole 42 is positioned in alignment with the hole in the hem elements 24 and 26 and the hole in the support bar 49. A hollow metal rivet 44 extends through the aligned holes in the shank portion 34, the hem element 24, the hem element 26 and the support bar 40. The ends of the rivet 44 are provided with flared portions 46 and 48. The outer diameter of the rivet 44 is less than the diameter of the holes in the shank portion 34', the hem element 2.4, the hem element 26' and the support bar 4%. The flared portions 46 and 48 maintain the elements in assembled relationship and enable the shank portion 34 to freely pivot relative to the support bar 40.

As shown more clearly in FIGURE 6, the nail-less hanger support device it) is mounted on an upright Wall 50. A wire 52 on a picture 54 is disposed within the bight portion of the hook 38'. It will be noted that the front flap 18 is higher than the uppermost surface of the picture 54-. Therefore, when the picture 54 is viewed from a position standing in front of the picture, the front flap 18' is visible and would ordinarily contrast with the color of the wall 59. The present invention obviates rthis disadvantage 'by making the strips 12 and 12 from a transparent plastic material.

The hanger support devices 1t and are used in the following manner.

The hanger support devices 10 and 1% may be put into operation very quickly and simply. The sheet of calendered paper 38 or 38' is removed from the front and rear flaps. The removal of the calendered sheet of paper exposes the layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 14 or 14. The rear flap 24 or 20 is pivoted about the seam 22 or 22' to a position so that the rear flap is substantially in the plane of the front flap. Then the hanger support device 10 or 10 is applied to a surface of a wall or the like with a small amount of pressure being applied to the outermost surface of the flaps. The layer of pressure sensitive adhesive 14 or 14 immediately secures the hanger support device 10 or 10 to the surface of the Wall or the like. Then the Wire or clip on the rear surface of a picture or the like is positioned within the bight portion on the hook 30 or 30.

If a picture or the like needs adjusting, the hook 30 or 3t) may be pivoted so that the picture or the like is supported in a proper position. If the hanger support device 10 or 10 is at an improper height, it may be readily peeled off from the surface of the Wall or the like and immediately repositioned wherever desired. Since the strips 12 and 12 are made from a transparent material, they are not readily observable and blend with the color of the supponting surface of the Wall or the like.

Therefore, it will be seen that the present invention provides a hanger support device which is reusable and capable of being readily moved from one portion of supporting Wall surface to another portion. The present invention includes a hanger support device wherein the flaps are made from a transparent plastic material and have a pressure sensitive adhesive on their rear surface. The provision of a pressure sensitive adhesive on the rear surface of the strip 12 and 12 enables a hem to be made very quickly and simply by applying pressure to the juxtaposed layers of the pressure sensitive adhesive. The layers of pressure sensitive adhesive also cooperate with the outer peripheral surfaces of the support bars 28 and 40 so as to prevent relative movement between the support bars and the hems on the strips 1-2 and 12. In addition, the provision of the pressure sensitive adhesive 14 provides for a more even distribution of the weight of the picture or the like adapted to be supported by the hanger support devices It? and it).

The present invention maybe embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential attributes thereof and, accordingly, reference should be made to the appended claims, rather than to the foregoing specification as indicating the scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A nailless hanger comprising a flexible transparent strip coated on its entire rear face with a pressure sensitive adhesive coating, said strip being overlapped upon itself along a transverse fold line to provide a hem, said hem having first and second elements extending from said fold line, a support bar positioned within said hem, the adhesive coating on a portion of said first hem element being in abutting contact with a face of said bar, the adhesive coating on a portion of said second hem element being in abutting contact with an opposite face of said bar, the adhesive coating on first and second portions of said strip being in abutting contact across the full Width of said strip thereby forming a seam, said bar being disposed between said seam and said fold line, said strip terminating in first and second flaps, a hook, means pivotably securing said hook to said support bar so that said hook may be swung in a plane closely paralleling the plane of said bar, and a selectively removable calendered sheet, one surface of said sheet being in abutting contact With the pressure sensitive adhesive coating on said first fiap.

2. A hanger in accordance with claim 1 including a second calendered sheet, said second sheet being selectively and removably disposed in abutting contact with the pressure sensitive adhesive coating on said second flap.

3. A hanger in accordance with claim 1 wherein the pressure sensitive adhesive coating on said second flap is in abutting contact with an opposite surface of said sheet.

4. A nail-less hanger in accordance with claim 1 where in said hem faces and support bar are provided with aligned holes therethrough, the shank portion of said hook being provided with a hole in alignment with holes in said hem elements and support bar, said securing means comprising a rivet extending through said hole in said shank portion of said hook, the end portions of said rivet being flared outwardly so as to maintain said hook, strip and bar in assembled relationship, and said bar being made from a synthetic resin.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

